Leonardo DiCaprio, Jerry Seinfeld, and More at the Foundation Fighting Blindness Gala

The real story, however, was the abundance of models in attendance, perhaps due to the fact that the event’s cochairs included Milla Jovovich, Natasha Poly, and Natalia Vodianova. We spotted Crystal Renn, Mirte Maas, Magdalena Frackowiak, and Lara Leito, among others. Rachel Hilbert, spokesmodel for Victoria’s Secret’s Pink line, proved to be a particularly charming assistant to Simon de Pury during the auction. The lot in question was a pair of tickets to this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. “And there’s the after-party, of course,” she joked. “And the after-after-party.” The tickets went for $40,000.

Irina Shayk, demure in a sheer Saint Laurent dress, assisted De Pury in auctioning off a private dinner for 20 at Andrea Bocelli’s home. She said the lot seemed like something that would appeal to a Russian billionaire. “I know there are a lot of Russian guys in this room tonight, so come on!” The prize brought in $150,000.

One Russian in particular stole the show, however. The Foundation honored businesswoman and Vionnet owner-designer Goga Ashkenazi for her philanthropic endeavors. “I truly feel that this is undeserved and hope that I can at some point live up to what being honored like this means,” she said. “But the cause is something that affects so many of us and is really personal for me.”

“New York is a very cosmopolitan city, very special place,” she told us. “Whether it’s fashion, charity, or business, you feel that you are in the epicenter of what’s going on in the world when you are in New York. Even if you don’t call it home, I think everybody has a special relationship with this city.”

But the night wasn’t all about models, or a DiCaprio sighting—it was about raising research funds for degenerative eye diseases. The Foundation ultimately raised just shy of $2 million—proving that this is one gala New York’s philanthropic set should certainly keep an eye on.